Hectograph blanket conditioning container



June l, 1943. J, H. TATHWELL.

HECTOGRAPH BLANKET CONDITIONING CONTAINER epiz jf 5y gmamwfmgma Patented June l, 1943 .f

HECTOGRAPH BLANKET CONDITGNING CONTAINER JosephH. Tathwell, Charlotte, N. C., assignor to Ditto, Incorporated, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of West Virginia Application May 19, 1941, Serial No. 394,236

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to. containers for hectograph blankets and is particularly directed to a container which is adapted to store hectograph blankets that are rolled upon spindles during the shipping of the blankets and afterwards during the periods when they are not used.

It is a particular purpose of the invention to provide a storage container of the character described which is adapted to maintain the condition of the blanket as to moisture content etc. substantially uniform under all conditions of temperature to which it normally would be subjected. The common material used in hectograph blankets for the body of the blanket is a gelatin mass. This material has the characteristic cf responding to the humidity of the air about it so that if the air is too dry the blanket itself will be dry and hard and will have to be moistened substantially inorder to make it work properly.' If, on the other hand, thev blanket is exposed continuously to conditions of high humidity, it tends to become soft and may actually become so soft as to become totally unuseable. This` is particularly true where high humidity is accompanied by high temperatures.

The other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawing wherein a prefer-red form of the inventionis disclosed.

In the drawing Figure l is aview in side elevation oi" a container embodying the present invention, the-container being shown in open position.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3-of Figure 1, but with the container parts' in closedv position.

Figure 4 is a section like Figure 2, but. showing thev parts in` closed position.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the standards used for supporting the rolls of hectograph blankets; and

Figure 6 is a perspective View of a clip used in holding the rolls in position.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, a container embodying the present invention comprises an inner shell l0 and an outer shell II. The two shells are preferably constructed of some such material as a heavy cardboard or other brous sheet material. The two shells I0 and II are adapted, when closed, as illustrated in Fig. 4 to provide a shipping container in which the hectograph blankets may be shipped from the manufacturer to the user. They are also adapted to (Cl. 20G- 52) be retained by the user as a storage cabinet in which-the blankets are stored while not in use. It willbe noted that the outer shell II telescopes over the inner shell, leaving the small portion I2 of the inner shell exposed at the bottom thereof.

The outer shell has twopieces I3 and I4 in the vertical ends thereof cut out and bent outwardly toV provide hand grips. I iind also that it is of distinct advantage in-making it easy to open the container if I coat the .engaging surfaces of the two shells with an anti-friction material which will also tend to waterproof the shell. I, therefore, dip the inner container ina wax bath so that it is coated inside and `outside with a waterprooiing wax. The petrolatum or paraffin waxes are adequate for this purpose. It is notnecessary to coat the outerl shell l I on both sides, since only the inner surface engages the inner shell I ll.

Means are provided within the container to support a plurality of spindles I 5, It and Il upon which are woundthe hectograph blankets I8, I9 and. 20. The present practice in handling blankets of this size is to mount them directly on spindles which are used in the duplicating machine, the blankets being wound on the spindlesA so that they may be carried by means of the spindles and attached to or .detached from the machine. In thepresent instance I have shown three spindles and three blankets, the blankets varyingl in width. Most duplicating machines are equipped to use blankets of diierent widths in order to make copies on sheets of diiferent widths.

The means for supporting the several spindles I5, I6 and Il comprises two standards 2| and 22. These standards comprise rectangular Wooden strips, each strip being provided` with a plurality of notches 23, 24 and 25, which notches extend inwardly and downwardly from one side edge of the strip. While I have described the strips as made of wood, it will be obvious that they may be constructed of any other suitable material. The standards 2| and 22 are of just such` size as to t snugly against the vertical end walls 26 and 2l of the inner shell HI. It will be noted that the inner shell is closed at top and bottom at the vertical ends and across the back. The front of the inner shell, however, is open except for an overlapping front flange 28 at the top and an overlapping flange 29 at the bottom. The notches 23, 24 and 25 are vertically spaced so as to provide clearance between the several blankets when the spindles are placed in the notches of the standard.

In order to lock the spindles in place so that the rolls will be held in spaced relation during shipping and storage, I provide the standards with closure blocks 30, these blocks being shaped as indicated in Fig. 5 to conform to the notches 23, 24 and 25. Each block is provided with a concave end 3l that is adapted to fit tightly around the spindle. After the spindles are in place in the notches of the standards, the several blocks 30 are inserted in the notches before the outer shell Il is lowered into place.

In order to prevent the blocks 30 from working out of the notches toward the inner sides of the standards, I provide each block with a holding strip 32. This holding strip is shown in perspective in Fig. 6 and comprises a strip of metal having a pointed end portion 33 which is bent at right angles to the body of the strip. This pointed end portion is driven into the blocks 3i? and engages against the outer wall of the standard in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5.

In order to maintain the hectograph blankets in proper condition, it is essential to provide the shipping and storage container with means to control the humidity of the air therein. This means must not be such as to seriously dry out the blanket, but it much be such as to adequately take care of the moisture that will inevitably be found in the air that enters the container from time to time as the container is opened and closed. The present container is so constructed as to provide a space at 34 in the bottom thereof and well below the adjacent blanket 2d in which to place the humidifying control device 35. This device comprises a receptacle which may be fixed in the bottom of the container, if desired, and the receptacle contains a chemical together with water, the chemcal having the characteristic of taking up more water if the humidity in the surrounding air exceeds a certain value.

For most ordinary uses and conditions the gelatin hectograph blankets are best when kept at a relative humidity of about 40 per cent. In order to maintain this humidity in a container which is not completely air tight and which is open from time to time, I provide a chemical which normally would maintain in` a closed cell a humidity somewhat below 40. rihere are a number of chemicals which may be used to give different humidities, but for my purpose I find that calcium chloride is exceptionally good. Calcium chloride, when provided in the presence of water in a closed container, will maintain a humidity of about 32 per cent. If it is desired to maintain lower humidities, such materials as orthophosphoric acid, zinc chloride, potassium acetate and potassium fluoride may be used. Under certain conditions special hectograph blankets are made up that are capable of withstanding high humidities without softening. In other words, these blankets would be quite dry at 30 to 40 per cent humidity, but would operate well at, say 60 to 70 per cent humidity. For such blankets, I prefer to use a suitable chemical such as calcium nitrate, sodium bisulfate, sodium bichromate. magnesium acetate and sodium bromide.

blankets on the spindles.

The manner of use of the present invention is substantially as follows: The manufacturer of the hectograph blankets stores them in the container consisting of the inner and outer shells lll and l l after winding the blankets on the spindles with which they are ultimately to be used, the spindles iirst being locked against movement in the standards 2| and 22. The manufacturer lls the receptacle 35 with the desired chemical and packs it within the container so that the contents will not be spilled throughout the container and so that the receptacle 35 cannot damage the When the customer starts to use the container, he adds a small amount of water to the chemical within the receptacle 35 and thereafter the blankets may be stored in and removed from the container from time to time, and the container will act as a means of storing the blankets at the proper humidity even though the temperature to which they are subjected may be quite high. Each time the container is opened in an atmosphere of high humidity, there will, of course, be a considerable amount of moisture in the air that will have to be removed after the container is closed, by the action of the chemical. This removal takes place without any necessary attention upon the part of the user of the blankets until such time as the chemical in the receptacle 35 has exhausted its ability to absorb the excess moisture. It will then be necessary to replace the chemical with a fresh supply.

Fromthe foregoing description, the nature of the present invention and the advantages thereof will be apparent toA those skilled in this art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A conditioning and containing means forhectograph rolls comprising a pair of spaced standards, having vertically spaced mounting sockets, comprising slanting notches extending downwardly from one side edge of each standard, spindles for saidrolls having their ends mounted in said sockets, removable means for holding the spindle ends in `the sockets, said standards being widerl than the diameter of the rolls, and said sockets being positioned substantially midway between the side edges of the standards and spaced apart a distance greater than the diameter of said rolls whereby to lhold the rolls apart, and enclosing means for said standards and rolls comprising an inner shell open at one side to permit access to said rolls and so as to permit any one or more of the rolls to be removed from the shell through the opening while the standards are resting on the bottom face of the shell and fitting against said standards at the outer surfaces thereof, and an outer shell adapted by telescopic engagement with said inner shell from above to close the open side thereof.

JOSEPH H. TATHWELL. 

